OKC Thunder draft prospect profile: Jaden McDaniels

Pro Comparison:

Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer lists Rashard Lewis, Andrew Wiggins, Nemanja Bjelica.

Well, that’s quite a range of talents from KOC to compare to McDaniels. Lewis was a sniper from deep and from this scribe’s perspective also underrated defensively. I’m also a big Bjelica fan and feel he is one trade away from finding his perfect Rasheed Wallace Pistons situation.

As for Wiggins, if McDaniels hits that high of a ceiling his drafting team will be thrilled they got him in the middle of the draft.

OKC Thunder fit:

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The Washington Huskies got hit hard by the injury bug this season including McDaniels who endured a bad ankle sprain. Without core talents available McDaniels stepped up his game and delivered.

His coach, Mike Hopkins raved about how he got better and better throughout the season citing two specific games McDaniels was chiefly responsible for the victory.

While head coaches tend to be invested in their players Hopkins had strong opinions about his star. The coach believes if the season continued he would’ve had the best season in the NCAA and furthermore said the youngster would be the steal of this draft. We can either take that effusive praise with a grain of salt or heed it as a reason to take a long look at the wing.

Personally, I’m not impressed by his lack of focus, inconsistent motor, and wonder if he was simply putting in the time to get that one required college season out of the way.